On July 9, the Kalamazoo Township board accepted two flowering trees to be planted on township property in remembrance of Mellinger, one from her family and the other from her fellow Kalamazoo County supervisors. In that meeting, the board also appointed Trustee Patricia Hiatt to fill Mellinger's seat until the November election.

Emily Monacelli is a government and taxes reporter for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Contact her at emonacel@mlive.com. Follow her on Twitter.